The present invention relate, to a formable decorative greenery such as a Christmas wreath.
One of the first signs of the approaching Christmas season is the adornment of front doors with a decorative greenery charm in the shape of a wreath or a candy cane. Over the fireplace there is nothing more inviting than a decorative greenery arch mantlepiece. And on the table, hostesses place a long straight greenery centerpiece.
Christmas decorations may be purchased along with the family Christmas tree at a local Christmas tree lot. They may also be purchased from florists. Still another popular method of obtaining these decorations is from local school children who knock on neighbors' doors to sell the decorations as a fund raiser.
A typical Christmas decoration is made by attaching greenery to a stiff single or double wire frame or plastic frame. An example of such a frame is shown in FIG. 1. A frame of this type used for a wreath is welded into a ring shape. Frames of this type have a predetermined shape that cannot be altered. Because the shape of the Christmas decoration is unalterable, many problems arise.
For example, a Christmas tree lot owner will generally place an order for pre-shaped Christmas decorations based on his prior experience with the seasonal demand. For example, a lot owner might order 100 straight centerpieces, 500 wreaths, 50 arches, and 50 candy canes. However, in any particular season, he could sell out of straight centerpieces and arches, but be left with 100 wreaths and 45 candy canes. Further, he may have been asked many times for those decorations that he has sold out. A Christmas tree lot owner may even loose sales of trees to disappointed customers who demand one-stop shopping. The next year, after reformulating his order, the lot owner may be faced with yet another shift in demand. The frustrating problem of having too many of one decoration and not enough of another cannot be solved with traditional decorations.
A florist who prepares fresh Christmas decorations is faced with a problem similar to the lot owner's problem because the florist has to purchase the pre-made frames. However, because the forms do not wilt and die like the greenery covered completed decorations, a florist may purchase excess of each frame. Storing excess frames is a problem to small shops. Also, if the florist prepares one of each decoration in advance, the florist may be left with some of the decorations but be struggling to produce other decorations according to customers' demands.
School children who knock on neighbors' doors to sell the decorations as a fund raiser usually carry samples to the door in advance of the season to take orders. This solves the problem of knowing how many of each decoration to order. However, the children have to struggle with carrying multiple samples or choose only one sample to bring door to door.
Shipping pre-shaped decorations is also problematic. First, the shapes are not optimally designed to take up a minimal amount of space. Secondly, if multiple shapes are shipped together, loading the decorations in a truck is similar to piecing together a difficult three-dimensional puzzle.
Even buyers have problems with pre-shaped decorations. If more than one family member is approached by children attempting to raise money by selling pre-shaped decoration and each subsequently buys a pre-shaped decoration, a family may end up with four wreaths and they only have a front door, a back door, and a garage door. Also, bringing a pre-shaped Christmas decoration such as a straight centerpiece as a hostess gift may turn into an uncomfortable situation if the hostess already has a centerpiece or another guest brings a centerpiece.
What is needed is decoration that overcomes the aforementioned problems of known systems.